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Flames crept up her neck. “I need to clean up this mess.” The pink pearl necklace clacked as she jerked it up and hung it on the display.
“Fine. Ignore me.”
“I’m not ignoring you.” Darcy snatched up the neon green wristlet the girl had left behind and headed to the table of spring clearance items. “I don’t tend to trust compliments from a man who’s said those words to half the female population.”
He followed, laying a hand on her arm to still her movements. “I wasn’t giving you some cheap, recycled line. I spoke the truth, a truth you need to take to heart.”
What Darcy needed to take to heart at the moment was the fact she had to be careful around him, especially when he was being kind and supportive.
Being a good friend.
Darcy was strong and capable. Why go all weak-kneed just because he said she’s a natural beauty? “I accept your compliment.”
Luke smiled, a victorious smile. “Good. While we’re having this heart-to-heart, let me add that I hate seeing you killing yourself working two jobs when you don’t need to, and then volunteering at the church on top of it.”
Picking up the last of the discarded items, Darcy headed to the other side of the store. “You’ve already stated your opinion. And as I’ve already told you, I need to pay off my college debt to prepare to live on my own.”
“Your mom is worried about you, and so am I.”
“Did my mom send you?”
“It was my idea to come tonight.”
But he hadn’t denied her mother’s involvement.
Whether or not she had sent him, Luke hadn’t come by because he wanted to spend time with her. “Ah, I see. You dropped by to make sure I don’t get robbed making the deposit.”
“Your mom mentioned you carry cash to the bank each time you close.”
Darcy shook her head. “I appreciate you caring, but I’m perfectly safe. The night deposit drop box is located inside the front entrance of the mall, so I don’t even leave the premises with money.”
He ran a hand through his hair, causing a curl to drop across his forehead. “And you refuse to call mall security to escort you?”
“I walk with employees from several other stores.” When the timing works out.
“All of you sitting ducks, targets for someone armed and possibly desperate.”
Frustrated that he didn’t seem to be listening to her, she marched to the front of the store and raised the gated door. “You can either trust my judgment, or you can leave.”
“I’m not leaving.”
“Then don’t show up when it suits you and start butting into my business. You’re not my keeper.”
Color streaked across his cheekbones, a sure sign he was majorly frustrated. His jaw sawed back and forth. “No, I’m not. I’m your friend. Your best friend. And that should count for something.”
Of course, he had to go and play the best friend card. They rarely did, only in dire circumstances. Darcy had pulled it once when he was dating a girl who ended up in juvie. He’d used it when she’d been sixteen and made plans to attend a party where there would be drinking, and another time when an overly charming lead singer of a band had asked her out in college.
He must be truly worried about her safety.
Begrudgingly, she reclosed the gate. “Wait here.”
Once again, his victory smile flashed, but at least he had the decency not to verbally gloat.
“I won’t be long closing out the cash register since we hardly sold anything.” She sighed. “If I can’t make the sale when these hoards of kids show up on the weekends, I’m afraid my boss will fire me.”
“And that would be a bad thing because…?”
His sarcastic grin made her smile, too. “Oh, hush.”
Leaving him to guard the place, she batched out the credit card machine, counted the cash and checks and filled out the deposit slip. She tucked the deposit in a lockable bank bag and then placed the cash register drawer, holding a set amount of money for the morning shift, in the safe.
Darcy quickly collected the to-go cups the girls had abandoned and emptied the trash. “I’m ready.”
Luke took the trash bag from her, dumped it in a large rolling bin mall management provided near the shop entrance, and then waited in the mall as she turned off the lights, set the alarm, pulled down the gated door and locked it. He looked around, alert, ready to defend her.
She laughed, but his action set up an ache in her chest that haunted her all the way to the night deposit box. She loved that he cared about her. Yet she longed for more.
Longed for something Luke couldn’t provide.
With a flourish, she tossed the money bag in the bank depository and closed the door, proving her shop closing ritual was safe.
He scowled at her flippant action. “I really don’t like the idea of you doing this several times a week.”
“Then I guess you’ll have to move back home and escort me each night.” She smiled sweetly, though the idea actually held appeal. Would he reconsider coming home?
His intense stare, as if he was possibly considering that option, made her heart race.
“You could do it, you know,” she said.
One side of his mouth hitched up. “Be your bodyguard each night?”
“No. Move back home. Open your own practice here.”
He shook his head as he opened the mall door, holding it for her. She pointed to her car, and they headed that direction.
“Can I ask you something without you getting in a huff about it?” he asked.
Which proved how well he knew her. “Probably not.”
His familiar chuckle, and the fact they’d been friends forever, made her miss the past, less complicated times.
“Why are you in such a hurry to move into your own place?” he asked. “Why not take your time, be a companion for your mom and give up the overtime?”
“I told you. I need to prepare to move out, to support myself. And having the student loans over my head stresses me out.”
“I can tell you’re worried about more than that.”
How could she explain her need to be financially independent in case she never married? “Mom needs her house and her life back. Needs her privacy, because I think she may be seeing someone. I should move on soon, but with bills to pay and no one to help me, I have to first plan and save.”
“Your mom would help if you needed her to,” Luke said.
“Sure, mom would let me live with her if I got in a jam. Even so, I need to be capable of supporting myself and don’t have any backup plan like you do.”
His eyes narrowed. “Backup plan?”
“If your business fails, your grandmother would help out, like she paid for graduate school.”
He straightened, offended. “My business isn’t going to fail.”
Her heart lurched. He’d always been sensitive about succeeding despite his dad’s doubts. “Of course it’s not going to fail. I only meant—”
“There’s your car,” he said coolly, cutting off her explanation. “I want to make sure you’re locked inside before I leave.”
Oh, man. She’d really made him mad. “Thanks for seeing me out safely.” She climbed in and locked the door.
He turned and walked away.
I’m such a rotten friend.
Luke rarely got mad. And when he did, it blew over quickly. But this time he was more than angry. She’d hurt him right where he was most vulnerable.
* * *
On Sunday morning as the congregation rose for the closing hymn for morning worship, Luke glanced at his dad beside him. They were standing in their regular pew in the middle of the sanctuary. Granny stood on the other side of Burt, singing her heart out.
All Luke could think about was that he needed to find a seasoned business partner—preferably his dad—and soon. He’d checked email that morning before leaving for the church and found a message from a client who had decided to leave the firm when he learned of Roger’s retirement, wanting a more experienced trial lawyer. And he wasn’t the first. Several others had already contacted Roger with concerns the past couple of days.
Luke tried to force his mind back to the music, to words that should inspire him and prevent his mind from wandering.
Staring at the hymnal, Luke recalled Darcy’s words from the night before. Did she truly think his business would fail? That he wasn’t capable of seeing it through the transition after Roger’s retirement?
The thought stung, but with his lack of work experience, she could be right. He couldn’t control whether clients left the firm. But he could control whom he hired and how he ran his business.
As Luke stared at the words on the page, the letters running together, he couldn’t help wondering what people would think of him asking his dad to come to Tennessee to join his practice. Would they think Luke hadn’t been able to succeed on his own?
No, he would be offering Burt an opportunity to start over. Thanks to Roger, Luke would be the one bringing clients to their new partnership.
As they filed out after the service, the elderly, squat gray-haired pastor of Appleton Community Church greeted parishioners at the door. Ever since Luke had moved to Nashville, he’d missed hearing sermons. Mainly because he spent Sundays at the office.
That needed to change. He needed to put God first in his life. He should find a place he felt as comfortable as he did in his Appleton church and attend worship more faithfully.
With light filtering through the stained glass windows, Luke inched along the carpeted center aisle with his dad and grandmother, greeting old friends. He hadn’t seen any of them since his mother’s funeral, and a few mentioned once again how sweet and fitting the service had been. Their comments made it difficult for Luke to speak.
Each time someone said something about Joan, Luke glanced at his father, wondering how he managed to hold himself together. Burt simply shook their hands and agreed.
Once they greeted the pastor and exited the church, Granny headed to speak with a friend.
“Dad, has this talk about Mom been hard for you?” Luke asked.
“It was tough when I first came back to church. In fact, I doubt I’d be back if it wasn’t for Noreen pushing me. Too many memories. That empty seat beside me.”
“And now?”
Burt stood straight and determined, chin held high. “I’m always going to miss your mother, but she wanted me to live my life. I’m pushing through, trying to keep going.”
Glad his dad was doing better, Luke nodded. Yet Luke worried his dad could be trying so hard to move on that he was in denial, not truly dealing with the grief.
“There’s Noreen now.” Burt waved to her and Darcy as they came out the door.
The way Burt’s face lit up right before he bounded toward the women set off a warning signal in Luke’s brain. Dad and Noreen?
No way.
Noreen had been his mother’s best friend for decades. Their families had spent summers together at a lake house they first rented and then purchased together as co-owners. The adults had played Monopoly on Friday nights and went to movies together. The men had gone on fishing trips. The women swapped recipes and shopped.
There was no way his dad and Noreen would get involved romantically. Like Luke and Darcy would never get involved.
That had to be gratitude Luke had witnessed in Burt’s eyes. Gratitude for pulling him out of his isolation and depression.
As Granny approached, she watched Burt. Grace was very perceptive. If anything were going on between Burt and Noreen, she would notice.
Snapping her attention to Luke, she smiled. “Ready to go?”
Apparently she hadn’t picked up on anything. Luke took his grandmother’s arm and led her to join the others.
Burt waved them closer. “Luke, Darcy told me you’re helping pick up a basketball hoop for the auction.”
Darcy’s face flushed. She looked breathtaking in her deep blue blouse that matched her eyes exactly. She also wore a slim-fitting, knee-length skirt, a far cry from her casual college attire.
He liked this new, feminine look. Liked how the skirt showed off her slim legs, how—
Cut it out, Jordan. He pulled his attention back to his father. “I’m actually going to be working with Darcy on the fund-raising committee for Food4Kids while I’m home.”
“You are?” Dad asked, a broad smile forming. “Good to hear. Your mom would be pleased.”
“That’s nice of you, Luke,” Noreen said. “Hey, why don’t y’all plan on coming back to the house this evening for dinner? Grace, you, too. And Burt, of course,” she added almost as if she’d forgotten him, her cheeks turning bright red.
Once again, alarm bells clanged in Luke’s head. Since when did Noreen blush around anyone in his family? Had she developed a crush on his father?
“We’d be delighted to come,” Dad said, totally oblivious to the undercurrents.
Poor Dad. Letting Noreen down easy would be difficult. And not something Burt should have to deal with. Maybe Darcy could have a talk with her, gently suggest she be careful with her feelings.
Grace patted Noreen’s arm. “Thank you, dear, but I’m helping cook supper for the youth group kids tonight. I’ll join you another time.”
“Luke, I guess we need to head on over to the sporting goods store,” Darcy said.
“Sure.”
